Disentangled
by PaigeHowlett
Summary: UPDATED/REPLACED AND IMPROVED Ginny dead. Ron gone. Hermione on "gardening leave" and Harry Potter in turmoil about the feelings he and Hermione are now harbouring for each other. His eldest son James has broken up with his first love, his fiancé and is desperately trying to become "just friends" but can you ever really be "just friends" with your first love? H/HR JSP/OC


**_-Authors Note-_**

 ** _This is my very first attempt at Harmony so please be patient with me. I know what it is like to fall in love with your best friend. This story will focus on how Harry lives with his 18-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter as a single dad and when all his children suggest he get a social life they didn't really mean to suggest their Aunt Hermione._**

 _Italicised is JSP thoughts_

 ** _BOLD is Rosa Marple's thoughts_**

 **STORY:**

 **They were just two people who loved each other with everything they had but both knew, they knew they couldn't work as a couple… Harry's eldest son is struggling with his feelings for his ex-girlfriend and Harry Potter is about to emerge on the single dad dating scene.**

 **It is** **2026 James Sirius Potter has graduated from Hogwarts 3 years ago, his mum Ginny died in a St Mungos just after he and Rosa Marple were engaged straight out of Hogwarts. He is now playing in the QPL for Appleby Arrows. He has just broken up with Rosa…. Now they are trying to figure out their new stratus as "friends" together six months down the line….**

It was only coffee Rosa thought. Her mind was set on it. And today she would not let her feelings for James Sirius Potter get in the way. He had extended the invitation and she felt she was ready to finally put her heart into pursuing something different from James. It made sense. Why not try and be friends with each other, after all they had shared more than most people their age. And she was determined today to make it work for her sake and his.

When she had written to him she wasn't sure where to meet him, where would be the best place to not be spotted by anyone they knew who thought they might be getting back together. The last time they had met up a reporter from The Daily Prophet had been sitting in the same coffee shop as them trying to take photographs.

Did she want that? No, she couldn't think like that today. But this was James, the first man who had ever looked at her with ' _that look_ '. Rosa had made a special effort today, her hair was curled and her black taffeta dress ironed hanging in her wardrobe, she was still undecided to wear it after her friend Lou had told her it hugged her in all the right places. And she was worried about wearing it around James but a little part of her wanted to show him how much he had changed her and how now she had changed herself.

She grabbed the dress and pulled it over her head she awkwardly zipped up the fastening and slung her velvet jacket over the dress. The time was ticking by and Rosa was starting to have doubts about all of this. Three years ago she had fallen in love with a wonderful, brilliant, creative and intelligent man and they had been in and out of each other's lives ever since it had ended six months ago. But today would be different and she would not let her feelings override her head today.

James wasn't sure what had made him want to see her, agree to meet her. Something was bugging him about the last time they had met, she had said something so profoundly odd that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about it.

 _'_ _Please don't ever leave me,' she had mumbled into the collar of his coat jacket when they said goodbye at Kings Cross._

 _'_ _Hey' James said 'I promise,'_

Why did he say that, was it giving her a false hope or did he really mean it? James often said exactly how he was feeling but when it came to Rosa she always had an ability to catch him off guard. He would never leave her life. In some cases, people who break up never see each other again- the odd passing in town or maybe the spotting on a bus but for Rosa Marple and James Sirius Potter it was different. They **_wanted_** to be in each other's life.

And that is why Rosa Marple was eagerly waiting at the bus stop for the 41 to turn up to whisk her off into the city centre. The main problem was that Rosa Marple was not sure if she could really face seeing James today, she was more than a little nervous. This was about the fortieth time they had met since their relationship had ended but today it was feeling different. She smoothed down her dress and the bus shunted towards a stop and the doors flung open wildly.

'Do you want to do this?' James said to himself was staring at his reflection in the mirror when his Aunt Hermione walked past his open bedroom door sipping a mug of tea. His dark brown hair was unruly like his fathers' most days but today it stubbornly lay flat. At 21 he had moved back in with his Aunt who lived near Cope Castle, a small suburban district north of Kensington and she charged him a small nominal rent. It was hopefully just temporarily till he found a flat in Holland Park not far from the private quidditch training ground where he practiced, which he doubted he could afford on a sole income. Hermione seemed rather appreciative of her nephews' company and it worked out nicely for both of them.

'Still deciding Jim?' Hermione said. James was fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt.

'It isn't anything is it?'

'What isn't anything Jim?' Hermione said sipping her tea

'Going for a coffee with Rosa,'

Hermione had spent the last few months on 'gardening leave' from her job at the Ministry, helping Harry and after everything that had happened she was still in no mood to leave the house for longer than was necessary. And her nephew's troubled sometimes tumultuous relationship with Rosa Marple was a good distraction for her.

'Jim you both made the right decision.' Hermione said firmly 'ending things the way you did; it wasn't going to get easier afterwards had you stayed together.'

'But Aunt 'Mione I sometimes wonder did I do the right thing.'

'Jim in time you will see, you and Rosa are better off as friends,' Hermione explained stoically

James looked round his room biting his tongue he started searching for his brown leather jacket.

'Behind you Jim,' Mione pointed out 'where you threw it last night no doubt,'

James slung it over his shoulders and checking his reflection one last time decided he couldn't do much about his flat hair.

'See you tonight Aunt Mione,' he said swiftly kissing her on the cheek and he was flying down the stairs out of the house to catch the train into town.

And Hermione Granger knew the dangers of falling in love, sometimes you fell in love with the wrong man at your most vulnerable, then when you fall for the right man it is just the wrong time. And that thought applied to none other than her best friend of 25 plus years, the newly widowed, Harry Potter. Ginny had passed away from a hideous form of cancer in St Mungos more than a year and a half ago. As she heard the door downstairs slam and James walk out Hermione was left alone with the thousand thoughts running through her head. Every one consumed with Harry Potter.

The scent of post-Christmas smells filled up the bus, people bogged down with shopping bags of reduced ex-Christmas stock and the stale smell of cider and cinnamon. Rosa picked the back of the bus, normally choosing an aisle seat James had taught her the back of the bus might smell worse but it was also the warmest place to sit- right by the bus engine. He taught her many things. And she remembered everything he had ever told her….

 ** _*FLASHBACK*_**

 _They were spending the day at the Royal Armouries and Rosa had decided to wear the nicest dress she could find, hoping that her (first ever) boyfriend of a few months would love nothing more than to stand looking at the exhibits with his hands wrapped around her waist and have him tell her all there was to know. For the moment Rosa was halfway there._

 _'_ _You see that, the way the bow is curved,'_

 _Rosa was standing in front of a rather scary looking figure dressed in dark brown rags holding a tall bow and arrow. James was busy telling her the different capabilities of the weapon when she decided to kiss him on the cheek._

 _'_ _What was that for,' he said turning his face to her and looking over his glasses, his lips twitched into a smile_

 _'_ _Just because,' Rosa said smiling 'I love listening to you,'_

 _'_ _Really, 'cos I can tell you more you know. Dad- he has tonnes at home about this. The archers were formidable,' James said, he went on to explain and Rosa watched the way his hands moved, he was so enthusiastic, his passion for his favourite topic was infectious even though her interests might be less than his by the time he had finished talking she was enamoured with his knowledge._

 _Jeez, Rosa thought, I've just told you I love listening to you. I'm standing so close to you I could literally fit inside your coat pocket, okay, try again she thought._

 _Rosa absent minded fiddled with the dark blue fabric of her dress, her fingers almost touching his side. She was subtly trying to lean more into him, wondering, no dreaming that he might just-_

 _'_ _Rosa? Earth to Rosa? Where'd you go just then?' he said curiously. She was a little perturbed he had caught her fidgeting._

 _'_ _Nowhere, just, this dress it's not me,' and she fiddled with the waistband, hoping he would just put his hand there._

 _'_ _I think it is- it really suits,' he said smiling 'I think you look' he stopped himself_

 _What do I look like to you James? Amazing, gorgeous? Or just plain trying too hard to get your attention, Rosa thought._

 _'_ _Time for coffee methinks, do you fancy it?' and she followed him down the stairs to the small coffee shop on the lower ground floor. Rosa nodded meekly, all she wanted was him to tell her. That the feelings she was having were real for him too._

 _And were they returned?_

 _James approached the staircase and grabbed Rosa's hand thumbing the back of her fingers softly he winked at her with his beautiful warm eyes. 'You okay?'_

 _God, thought Rosa, how the fuck can you ask me that?_

Rosa jumped of the bus after everyone else had gotten off she preferred it this way because she sometimes had extended little chats if it was a regular bus driver and wouldn't hold anyone else up. She wrapped her black and grey tartan scarf tighter around her neck and pulled in her velvet jacket closer around her waist. The main road running through the centre of the city was always busy and loud, Rosa walked along past the rows of glinting shop windows displaying "SALE" signs in every part of the window that could be seen. Hassled sale shoppers filled the street and cries of children filled the air and Rosa hurried her pace away from the screaming bairns. She had told him to meet her in front of the library, and on Rosa's part it was a place that meant a lot to her. And she secretly hoped he would remember just how important it was to her, but what was she expecting from him? It wasn't his job to know her like that anymore, they were friends. But even she wasn't sure today how she was feeling. But a part of her desperately wanted to see him.

The rain was holding off thank goodness, her dark red curls of hair were held in place by a thick lacquer of hair spray, rather out of character but since she and James had parted she had taken to doing things outside of her character, more to spite him than anything else. She wasn't proud of it, particularly because she was still doing things for James' benefit when he barely noticed.

Or did he notice? He never said a word if he did, adding to Rosa's confusion

Rosa was walking along the side of the main library building, her heart was starting to pound faster than normal. Even now she looked forward to these small brief encounters she had with James, it kept her going, helped heal her wounded heart. Most of her friends (if she had any) would have told her what James and she were doing was dangerous, stupid and only causing them more hurt. But what had he said to her? Disentangle themselves from the relationship, adjust the way your feelings think. That was James, he was practical. He would've told her he loved her in a chemical or electronic formula had she ever been unable to understand it, he was fascinated with the way the world worked. Always practical and precise.

Rosa was in a world of her own almost when she came up on the library steps almost by accident. And James was there.

 **Just James.**

 **He hugged her.**

 **She melted.**

 **Not,** ** _Just_** **James.**

 **He let her go.**

 **She smiled.**

 ** _Her_** **James.**

 _What the hell am I doing?_ That was the first thought running through James' head, _she looks amazing- and all I'm thinking about is how quickly she would let me rip that dress off her. I'm not allowed to think about her like that. But wait, did she just adjust that part of her dress?_

'It's all a mess, but Tiffany reassured us it would be handled like anything else you know. Under the rug,' Rosa raised the cup of tea to her lips taking a sip she placed her cup back down, her right hand crossing her breast as she fiddled with the dress line across her chest, she was talking about her boss who was hopeless at leading a team.

James watched her and listened to her, hoping she wouldn't begin what she normally did and that was bring up the past. He wondered did she know it was painful for him too, that every day he wished he hadn't hurt her and he somehow felt so responsible for hurting her that he was trying to still make it up to her? Did she know that whenever she ran her tongue over the lips of that cup that she was actually driving him to distraction?

 _Does she want me to notice?_ That was the next thought filtering through James' mind _no, don't be stupid she doesn't want that from you anymore. You finished all of this business months ago._

 _She's leaning back in the chair now; I can see all of her. But I can't have her. That isn't how it works now. But damn it, that dress. Why the hell wasn't she wearing that six months ago when I was allowed to run my hands over her? God what has she done to her hair, stop it, drink coffee. You're here to drink coffee. And talk. Say something to her._

'It might be for the best, you can't always deal with things at the time. You need time to process it all don't you?' he managed to say.

'Well we both know about time, don't we?'

 _Shit, here she goes. But I can't stop her, she lights up when she talks about it. Her nature is, well in a word infuriating. It's like all the hurt I caused her, her pain she doesn't want to talk about it but then she says things like_

'Time heals broken hearts, I'm sure right James?' and she poured out more tea.

'The past is the past I guess, like I said before.'

 **Shit, he did not just repeat that to me… for the hundredth time since July? We had nearly three years of amazing everythingship and his response about my broken battered heart is that? Why doesn't he tell me, is he watching me? Right pull the dress up, he's clearly not looking.**

'Do you like the dress?' Rosa said taking a punt.

 **Please tell me you like it.**

'No, oh its nice,' he commented

 _Shit, its more than nice. I want you to take it off and I want to see it lying on my bedroom floor, but we can't do that anymore, it wouldn't be right to fantasize about you like that,_ James thought.

'Have you finished your story, you know The Lemae Mysteries?' James said changing the subject subtly. Rosa was a writer and she often wrote story's in school about her friends, her family and- JAMES.

'Not entirely. I think I need some more time to write. But can't find the time,'

 **I'm wearing a black little number of a dress, I'm sure I caught him looking didn't I? Or is it my imagination that this eyes fell down for only a second but I am sure it was there. But he won't tell me will he, if he still likes me? I know he can't say it so maybe I should? I love what he's wearing, entirely casual, that dark brown leather jacket slung on the back of the chair** ** _\- I_** **remember wearing** ** _that jacket_** **once upon a time and very little else.**

'You need to really look at your structure, it might help if you look at other writers.'

'Well I do,' Rosa said, she could feel herself blushing as her eyes wandered away from the brown leather jacket 'I'm reading a lot- erm. In fact,'

 **God, do I tell him that I still write about him? He always read my stuff, and he hasn't forgotten the name of my story, our story where he is the main character as an international spy during WW2 working at a POW in Germany. My female lead might have a slightly serious affection for him, she might just want to do unspeakable things to him. Do I pull out my notebook- let him know that I still fantasize-**

'What are you reading?' James asked breaking Rosa from her train of thought

'Not Quidditch Quarterly I can tell you,' she laughed slightly hollow 'I don't think I have a single copy of it left in the flat,'

 **Liar- You still have the first edition showing James on the cover hidden underneath your bed…**

'How is your work going?' Rosa ventured, she didn't want James to ask her more about her writing because he had read enough of her stuff to know she was a procrastinator and always leapt from one story idea to the next.

'Quidditch- my life at the moment. Coach is changing formation. Tyler is a big pain in my arse, but nothing new in that department, forces unbound bollocks- he just can't help himself telling us all 'how in his day it was different','

Tyler Watts was the grounds keeper at the stadium, home to the Appleby Arrows who James played for and had once been a great player but his behaviour became so unruly after a game he was sacked, but the owner Abigail Appleby took a shine to him and kept him on as the groundskeeper. He was forever telling the players how out of formation they were and that every goal they missed was a nail in the coffin for the Arrows trophy hunting. But James simply loved the game and tried not to rise to the nasty retorts from such a bitter and twisted wizard.

James was glad the attention had turned to quidditch, his passion, his whole life had been built around it since he could fly his toy broomstick around the garden at four years old. He needed to talk about the last match, anything and everything…

 _And the less I think about taking you home and making love to you with that dress hitched up around your waist the better. Coffee. Drink. Coffee. Repeat._

AN: So that is a little taster of the life and times of our beloved star JSP of the AA! The next chapter I will introduce Harry, Albus and Lily.

I do not own the characters and it will become more HARMONY in later chapters. I am working on several ideas at the moment so my head is literally all over the place. Rosa is going to be a new character, a departure of my normal writing hopefully. Tell me what you think please.


End file.
